Preparing Thai dishes is rather similar to preparing other national food. For example, Japanese cuisine provides dry dishes (such as 'sushi' and 'sashimi') or fried dishes (such as 'tempura') with soup ('mizo soup'). Likewise, European menu starts with appetizers, followed with main dish and dessert. Basic principle of Thai culinary art focuses on 'natural balance'. For example, hot dishes should be accompanied with unspiced dishes; and dry dishes should be served with soup for easy swallowing.

How to mix and match
      Basic principle of ‘natural balance’ is composed of:

Taste
      Each meal, for delicious flavour, should be comprised of food with various tastes. It is proper to set hot dishes with unspiced or salty dishes, or sour dishes with sweet dishes.
      Basically, thick-flavour dishes cannot go with thick-flavor dishes as flavor from one dish may dominate another one, resulting less delicious taste or unpleasant eating. Serving dishes with similar taste may bring about extremely oily, sweet, hot, salt and sour flavor.

Type of food
      Dry dishes, cooked by whatever mean such as 'pat' (frying), 'yam' (spicy salad mixing), 'tord' (deep frying), etc., should be served with soup dishes, such as 'tom yam', 'gaeng' (curry) or 'tom jued' (unspiced soup)
      With common-sense thinking, it is very hard to swallow to have dry dish with dry dish. So, for the sake of accompanying, soup is perfect side dish. Similarly, if you cook oily dishes, you should avoid another fat dishes unless too oily taste could bring about unpleasant meal

Example of proper Thai menu
-Hot curries go very well with salty food, such 'pla kem' (Thai anchovy), 'nuer kem' (salty dried beef), 'pat hua-pak-kard kem sai kai' (fried dried turnip with egg), 'pla haeng pon gab taeng mo' (dried puffy fish and water melon), pineapple, 'yam' (spicy salad), salad, 'pla' (hot and spicy salad), pickled cabbages or fried dishes.

-'Gaeng som' (spicy and sour green papaya soup) should be eaten with 'moo wan' (sweetened pork), omelet, 'kai-look-keuy' (sweet and sour fried egg), salty items, or fried dishes.

-'Gaeng Jued' should have spicy side dishes such as 'pat phrik king' (fried vegetables with chili paste), 'pat phrik' (fried dishes with chili), or deep-fried items.

- 'Masaman' (masaman curry) and 'gaeng-garee' (yellow curry) are very well with 'ar-jad' (cucumber sauce), salad, 'yam' (spicy salad), fermented vegetables or salty items such as 'kai kem' (salty fermented egg)

- 'lon' (hot coconut-milk paste), 'nam phrik' (chili dipping sauce), and other dipping items should be set with vegetables, fried fish, steamed fish, fried egg, boiled shrimps, grilled shrimps.

- Deep-fried and roasted meat can go along with boiled potatoes, boiled peas, boiled cabbage, etc.

- Fried rice should be served with 'ar-jad' (cucumber sauce) or 'gaeng jued phak-dong' (fermented vegetable soup) to relieve oily taste.

- 'Khao man' (cooked rice with coconut milk) should be eaten with 'som tam malagor' (papaya salad), curries, spicy tamarind paste, salad, salty items, fried vegetables, and lime-mixed 'nam-phrik pao' (Chili dipping).

- 'Khanom jeen sao nam' (Chinese spaghetti with coconut sauce) can have 'jaeng ron' (fish boiled in coconut milk) and 'hor mok' (steamed fish with curry)

- 'Khanom jeen nam phrik' will be more tasty to be eaten with boiled egg, fried egg, 'tord man' (deep-fried prawn cake), 'vegetable tempura', fried puffy shrimp, and some vegetables ( such as tamarind leaves)

- 'Khanom jeen nam yaa' (Chinese spaghetti with fish curry soup) may be accompanied with boiled egg, and 'kung ron' (shrimp boiled in coconut milk).

Apart from these above suggested tips, personal interest on crossover combination should not be overlooked. With such gimmick, your next Thai menu will be full of all flavors.